Mathilde Loisel Character Analysis in The Necklace (Essay Sample)

Throughout the story of “The Necklace” the character of Mme. Loisel is characterized through selfish desires and decisions. The character of Mme. Loisel differs from Odysseus because in the end, Mme. Loisel gives in to the consequences of her actions and works to pay back the necklace in which she lost. On the other hand, when Odysseus returns home after indirectly killing his men, he expects everything to go back to normal and to not have to deal with the consequences of not being home for twenty years. Although the character of Odyssey presents himself in a selfish way that is different from Mme. Loisel’s, they still both capture the essence of hubris. Hubris is excessive pride of oneself which is clearly present in both stories of “The Necklace” and “The Lotus Eaters” in The Odyssey. To give a fair comparison, Mme. Loisel’s hubris is present when she makes her husband search for the necklace that she lost at the ball while she relaxes at home, not putting in any effort to retrieve the lost item. This is an example of hubris and shows her excessive pride because it shows how Mme. Loisel sees herself as “above” her husband and that she should not have to be the one putting in effort to retrieve the item. She is so full of pride that she believes it is not her duty to do the dirty work of her own actions. This correlates to a moment in “The Lotus Eaters” when Odysseus makes his men eat the flowers in order to see what the consequences will be and to make sure he is safe from them. This hubris decision is similar to Mme. Loisel’s decision because Odysseus is putting himself above his men and thinking he will not have to be the one to get in trouble if negative consequences were to arise.